Review: Sega Ages: Columns II keeps the pressure on players

By Jenni Lada // 10.17.1910.13.19

Each console has its own sort of puzzle series connected to them. When someone thinks of a Nintendo system, Picross or Tetris could come to mind. After all, both have made their home there for years. With Sega, another sort was its identifying IP: Columns. Until the Nintendo Switch came along, the worldwide library has been rather incomplete. Columns II never appeared outside of Japan. With Sega Ages: Columns II, people’s library is finally complete.

PS4 Review

Review: The student has become the teacher in The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III

By Graham Russell // 10.15.1910.14.19

Nihon Falcom’s The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III is both a continuation and a new chapter. It’s not a fresh start for Rean Schwarzer and company, but it’s a clear inflection point, with a shifting status quo and a new cast of characters. At its core, though, it’s still very much the games that came before it. And for longtime fans of the franchise, a new coat of paint over the same structures is probably just fine.

PS4 Review

Review: Utawarerumono Zan is a complementary beat-’em-up

By Jenni Lada // 9.3.199.3.19

When it comes to visual novels, there’s a specific complaint that often comes up. People unfamiliar with the genre can sometimes be quick to point out how little "gameplay" there is in such affairs. It was a criticism volleyed at both Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception and Mask of Truth, two visual novels that didn’t offer players much agency, in terms of choices, and only occasionally broke up the narrative with a battle or two during appropriate events. Utawarerumono: Zan feels like a direct response to such this kind of grievance, but it might go too far when trying to rectify those gripes.

Review Switch

Review: Sega Ages Space Harrier helps you rail against fantastic enemies

By Jenni Lada // 8.21.198.19.19

Space Harrier is one of those classic Sega games. The name is recognizable by anyone who has seen it in the 34 years since it made its arcade debut. Whether it is in an arcade, on a console or perhaps even in a Yakuza 0 virtual arcade, this early Yu Suzuki title has a sense of presence. There are plenty of reasons to remember it. Now, with the Nintendo Switch Sega Ages Space Harrier release, there is a refined version of the original game that takes optimized elements from past releases and a few optional gimmicks that provide a new way to look at the game, regardless of how good you may be at it.

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Review: Dragon Quest Builders 2 offers bigger, better building

By Graham Russell // 7.11.199.20.19

The first Dragon Quest Builders was a successful adaptation of the crafting game to the world of Dragon Quest, adding structure, aesthetic and narrative to its gameplay. That said, it was definitely a first effort, and there were clear areas in which it could improve in a sequel.

Dragon Quest Builders 2 goes so much further than we were expecting.

PS4 Review

Review: Judgment makes a case for your free time

By Graham Russell // 6.20.197.24.19

While there are many forms of critique, for many, the purpose of a game review is essentially binary: should you play the game? It’s something you have to decide for yourself, after absorbing all the information you can to make your decision the most accurate and fair one. So in a way, what you read should be presenting the best case for each outcome, letting you make the final…

Yeah. Judgment. You knew where I was going with this. Let’s get to it.

Review Switch

Review: Little Friends: Dogs & Cats is a soothing simulation

By Jenni Lada // 6.7.199.2.19

If there is one area in which the Nintendo Switch is lacking, it is in pet simulations. There were plenty on previous handhelds and consoles, all of varying degrees of quality. In Japan, the Sumikko Gurashi characters have a whole series of sims. But worldwide, there is a tragic cuteness deficiency. Little Friends: Dogs & Cats attempts to remedy that.

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Review: Atelier Lulua is the epitome of efficiency

By Jenni Lada // 5.22.199.2.19

Different installments in Gust’s Atelier series can find themselves known for different things. Atelier Firis was about getting more places to go. Atelier Sophie tries to make us realize why each recipe mattered. With Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland, it can feel like the theme is efficiency. That extends to alchemy, exploring a world, telling a story and offering an epilogue to one of the better known Atelier trilogies.

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Review: Slash, spend, get a head in Lapis X Labyrinth

By Graham Russell // 5.21.195.21.19

The latest release from the team behind the Disgaea series, Lapis X Labyrinth is a different sort of game for the studio, but one coated with similar trappings and aesthetics. It’s an action game in which you’ll make timed runs through areas to get loot and defeat enemies, but you’re still managing equipment with effects and maneuvering around a hub world taking the place of a more efficient (but perhaps less evocative) menu system. It’s got meters for special moves, reward-multiplying “fever time” and direction-based attack inputs, but you’re ultimately still equipping a small team of customized units and bringing them to a place to slash at gems and take out specifically-marked bosses.